Saturday, May 28, 2011

Week of crap

Wow, I had a bad week last week. Just horribly bad. And I pretty much let one person control that.

I knew going in that it would be a stressful week. I was teaching entirely new topics. I had to work late at night and get up very early in the morning poring over my notes and lesson plans to get ready for class. I was stressed and tired and felt awkward and unsure. I was counting down the hours until class was over. But I made it. And I actually thought I did pretty well. People seemed to get it, and I didn't make a complete ass of myself. Sometimes that counts as success.

Then I made the mistake of reading my evaluations right after class, when I still felt pretty good about how the class had gone, all things considered. Many were very kind and complimentary. A couple said they weren't thrilled with the training. And then one had a cruel personal comment that I won't repeat here because I have been repeating it in my head far too often.

I was pissed. And sad. I had worked so hard that week to make the class a success, and all this person can say is a comment on my appearance. Of course the comment was anonymous. So I spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out who it was or how I had wronged that person.

Then I switched to deciding I was horrible at my job and for some reason people didn't like me. Then I evolved to thinking I shouldn't be working anyway if it was going to make me miserable, and I might as well just stay home with my kids. It was a long weekend.

This week went better. I had a good class, and my trainees were engaged and seemed happy. I decided to not even read my evals, opting to let my boss share any actually constructive criticism after she read them.

It's a shame people can be such jerks. It's sad that women are more likely to criticize women. It's pathetic that one person saw a personal comment as a valid item to include on an evaluation. And it's not right that I should feel miserable after a week I had every right to be proud of.

--MM

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

ET Amphibian

Q asks me, "Are those arons frogs?"

"What?" I ask. "Errands?"

"No," he answers, as if this is the most obvious question in the world. "Arions. They go way up into the sky in the circle things."

"Aryans?"

"Arions!"

"Oh," I say, finally understanding his kidspeak. "Aliens. That go up in the sky in the flying saucers. Are they frogs? Is that what you are asking?"

"Yes."

"No, but they do look like frogs," I finally respond.

"Oh," he answers satisfied. "So they just look like frogs, but they're not really frogs."

"Yes," I say. Then I add after some thought, "And aliens are not real. They're just pretend."

--MM

Friday, May 13, 2011

Awkward

Q is in that horrible phase where he just blurts out whatever he observes. I believe this phase shows up around the age of four and then again around the age of 75.

A few days ago we were walking in a parking garage when a tall couple approached. "Dad, look how TALL they are. Look! They're so tall!"

The people were about ten feet from us, so they just smiled in an embarrassed way and shuffled on.

He did it again this past week at the airport, exclaiming loudly about how tall a guy right next to us was. The tall person in question just ignored Q and acted like he didn't hear him, but a kid behind Mr. Tall thought the whole scene was hilarious.

I dodged a bullet when we were checking in at the airport. I noticed the woman taking the checked luggage appeared to have gigantism (like Andre the Giant).

"You better drop off the bag alone," I whispered to T.

But you can't dodge every awkward moment. We were in Boston this past weekend for Lena's christening. We stopped by to visit an old man who knew T when he was little. The man had trouble getting around, and as could be expected, his chair was shabby and their were stacks of magazines and other things.

"He lives in a dumpster!" Q declared.

Time to go!

I was filling the kids' nanny in on all this awkwardness, and she told me that Q had asked a chubby friend of her teenage daughter, "Why are you so fat?" I'm sure that's just what that poor girl needs at this stage of her life.

So now we are trying to inform him that you can't say everything that comes to mind, and some things are just not nice to say because they hurt other peoples' feelings.

How have you handled this pre-school awkwardness? Besides pretending the child belongs to someone else (though I have tried this).

--MM

Sunday, May 1, 2011

April favorites

The author of a blog I enjoy does a monthly list of her favorite discoveries during the previous four weeks. I know a good idea when I see it, so I am shamelessly ripping off her monthly list. Here then are my favorites for April:

1. Skinnygirl Margarita
What a wonderful thing. A margarita that's low in calories. Brilliant. I kind of love Bethenny Frankel, and I admit, I watch her reality shows. I had been meaning to try this, so we had it the other night with tacos, and it didn't disappoint.

2. Endless.com

This website lets you narrow in on the exact shoe you want. Two-inch heels, black, open-toed, under $100, C width? No problem. And then best thing is you get free overnight delivery on most shoes, and two-day delivery on most others. Awesome.

3. Chobani individual pineapple Greek yogurt cups

This isn't always the easiest to find because it is super popular. Pineapple is my absolute favorite, but they have other types as well. It is very high in protein and tastes like dessert. I'm in love.

4. Bumbo seats


Lena eating her first cereal

I think a lot of baby products are pointless. We got rid of our Pack n' play, and I don't get things like covers for shopping cart seats. But I do love this Bumbo seat, and I highly recommend it if you have a baby or plan to some time in the future. It is perfect to help them sit up and keep them contained before you want to haul out the big high chair. You can also get an attachable tray. I don't however purchase the optional Bumbo seat covers.

5.Yoga
This will never be me
I used to do a lot of yoga. In fact, I even taught yoga several days a week, though I don't really have formal yoga training. I knew enough.

I have been away from yoga for a short while though and just started up again this month. A girl at my work teaches yoga once a week either in the hall of our training center or outdoors if we are lucky. She knows her stuff, and her classes are challenging and enjoyable. It's great. After the first session that was actually outdoors, I felt refreshed and serene. And really sore. I love the feeling of strengthening rarely used muscles and maybe even firming up my stretched out post-baby belly. Yoga, I've missed you.

--MM